The Prayers of David, the Son of Jesse Are Ended

THE PRAYERS OF DAVID, THE SON OF JESSE ARE ENDED.

Psalm 72: 20

New Year’s Eve Sermon by:

Rev. G.R. Procee

PUBLISHED BY THE
PUBLICATIONS COMMITTEE
OF THE
FREE REFORMED CHURCHES OF NORTH AMERICA.

(November 2006)

LITURGY:

Votum

Psalter 444: 1, 2

Scripture Reading: Psalm 72

Text: Psalm 72: 20

Psalter 198: 1, 7

Congregational Prayer

Offerings

Psalter 247

Sermon

Psalter 450

Thanksgiving Prayer

Psalter 110: 1, 3

Doxology: Psalter 195: 3, 4

Congregation,

We have again come to the end of a year. As we look back in this past year of 200.. we

see God’s undeserved goodness towards us. Every day again the Lord has blessed us in

We have again come to the end of a year. As we look back in this past year of 200.. we many ways. We had His Word with us. We were spared and strengthened. We were also comforted in days of grief and sorrow. The Lord blessed us daily with food and drink. Others were snatched out of this life by earthquakes, sickness, war and calamities. But the Lord has spared us.

We have every reason to join in with the poet of Psalm 103: Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.

This miracle of Gods goodness to us in this past year becomes even greater when we see how we have been and what we have done. We have sinned against God in countless manners. By our thoughts we have transgressed the Lord. In our actions we have sinned against God. Sin lies at the door of our lives. How we need to humble ourselves at the last day of this year. We need the Blood of the Lord Jesus to wash and to cleanse us.

Looking back we must say with Psalm 40:12, innumerable evils have compassed me about: mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that I am not able to look up; they are more than the hairs of mine head.

At the end of this year we are also reminded of how quickly time flies. We are already at the end of this year. Matters change so quickly. Our years are spent as a story that is told. Before you know it the end is there. All things here on earth shall end. Our coming to church shall end. Our marriages shall end. Our families shall end. Our jobs shall end. Everything comes to an end. We are all rushing forward to the end of our lives. Peter reminds us in 1 Peter 4:7 that the end of all things is at hand, be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.

The last service of the year we wish to consider the last text of Psalm 72: The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.

What does this text mean? Why is such a comment in Scripture? Right after this Psalm 72 we read this comment: The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended. How are we to take this? It seems to have no connection with Psalm 72. But we could be very mistaken, when we think that this comment has no connection with Psalm 72.

What does this little text mean? At face value you could think that after Psalm 72 there are no more psalms of David to be found in the book of psalms. At face value you could think that since we read here, that the prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended, that in the rest of the book of the Psalms we will not find any psalms or prayers recorded from David. But that is clearly not true. For we find after Psalm 72 still many psalms written by David. Psalm 86 is a prayer of David. Psalm 101; Psalms 108-110 and more. So this comment does not mean that after Psalm 72 there are no more prayers or psalms of David in the Book of Psalms.

How then must we take this text: The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended? Is it just a vague liturgical comment? Is it just a phrase put in the psalms to point out a certain change in authorship? That we had some psalms or prayers now from David and now we shall have some other authors and then you see the following psalms are of Asaph. Then this comment would be nothing but a liturgical comment to give some explanation regarding the authorship of psalms.

Some read it in this way. They say that this psalm is the last psalm David himself arranged for public worship. The rest being collected afterwards by King Hezekiah and after him by the priest Ezra. We know from for instance 1 Chron. 15 and 16 that David appointed singers over the tabernacle and that he gave them songs to sing in the worship service. Also we know that Hezekiah restored the temple and he restored also the singing of the psalms of David,

2 Chron 29:30 Moreover Hezekiah the king and the princes commanded the Levites to sing praise unto the LORD with the words of David, and of Asaph the seer.

Ezra also re-instated the temple service and that was after the exile. Ezra 3:10 And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, they set the priests in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites the sons of Asaph with cymbals, to praise the LORD, after the ordinance of David king of Israel.

So David was the king who organized the singing in the temple. He prepared psalms for the temple singing. Now some commentators say that Psalm 72 was the last psalm to be composed by David for the singing in the temple. That is portrayed by the words after Psalm 72: The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.

Others read this comment as a simple liturgical designation that this forms the end of the 2nd book of psalms. You must understand that the Jews divide the psalms up into 5 sections. The psalms 1- 41 form the first subsection. The psalms 42-72 form the second subdivision. The other divisions are 73-89; 90-106; 107-150. Psalm 72 is the end of the second section. That is what this comment means, some say.

But there are also others who say that this Psalm 72 was the last psalm David composed in his life. He composed it then after his son Solomon had been crowned as king. This was all a short time before David’s death. So then this comment: The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended, means to show that Psalm 72 was the last psalm David wrote. This was the last prayer that David wrote down to be used in the temple worship.

This last view is that of the marginal notes, Matthew Henry, Calvin, Spurgeon and others.

It makes more sense to interpret this text that this was the last psalm David composed and that with Psalm 72, the prayers of David are ended. Calvin says that this comment was not without cause added by Solomon. It has a purpose, Calvin says. Christ is in this text. There is encouragement and admonition in this text.

We will see this as we meditate on our text: The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended. We find here: The conclusion of David’s life. 1. He ends in Christ. 2. There is an end to prayer. 3. There is an end to life.

1. Psalm 72 speaks of Christ. It is one of the most beautiful Messianic psalms. Psalm 72 contains a description of an exalted king and the blessings of his reign. These blessings are of such a nature that the one referred to must be equal to God. Because His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. It is a universal kingdom, that is from sea to sea. His Kingdom secures perfect peace which shall be a lasting peace with God and goodwill among men. All men are brought to submit to Him with love. There shall be perfect righteousness in His Kingdom.

In Him all the nations of the earth are blessed and that is fully applicable to Christ. In Christ all the blessings of redemption, peace and life are brought into this world. The subject of this psalm is Christ, the eternal King, the Redeemer of this world.

One of the puritans wrote that this psalm was penned by a king and is dedicated to a king and it is chiefly intended concerning Him who is King of kings.

After this psalm, in which the glories of Christ are so beautifully expounded, we read the comment that the prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.

After having portrayed one of the most beautiful prophecies of the Old Testament regarding Christ, David has come to an end. David ends in Christ. He ends his last prayer in Christ. His last prayer was a glorious representation of Christ. After David has prayed for his son Solomon and for the coming of the glorious reign of Messiah, David feels as if he has nothing more to ask. He ends in Messiah and His glory.

What more could David ask? He has climbed the summit of the mount of God. He desires nothing more. With this upon his lips, he is content to die. David has nothing more to ask for, or to wish, beyond the great things described in this psalm. He has come to an end of asking.

Here end the prayers of David. That means here is the fulfillment, the summit of the prayers of David. Here we see the aim of his prayers. It is Christ. Here his prayers are perfected. Here his psalms are perfected. Ask what the purpose was, what the aim was of all David’s psalms: here you see the final end, the final aim: The glory of Christ. This psalm is at the center of all the psalms. All the psalms have ultimately this glory of Christ as their focus. David ends in Christ. With an exultation of Christ David’s prayers are ended. They have reached the aim, the end.

David ends in Christ. David is not alone in that. We see that more often in Scripture. We see Jacob who on his death bed cries out: I wait for Thy salvation o Lord. Simeon in the temple ends in Christ. Simeon can now depart because he has seen the salvation of the Lord. Stephen sees Christ and cries out, while the stones are falling down upon him: Lord Jesus receive my spirit. Paul desires to depart to be with Christ. These are some of the testimonies we read of God's children.

But it actually counts for all of God’s children They all have been united to Christ. The Lord Jesus has become their hope and their Refuge, their payment and their covering. They all need to be covered with the righteousness of Christ. They need His peace in their hearts. They desire to belong to His everlasting Kingdom. They all need Christ. All God's children end in Christ. David also ends in Christ.

You, what about you and me? Do you end in Christ? That is the one thing which is absolutely necessary for you and me. That is to end in Christ. What does that mean?

That means that you have come to an end with yourself and you find full salvation in Christ. You see yourself as a sinner, who has transgressed against all of God's commandments. You see that you can only make matters worse in your life. David knew this when he penned Psalm 51, Psalm 6. He learned to see that his only hope could be in the perfect righteousness of Christ. He needed to be washed to be made whiter than snow.

There was no other hope, or refuge for him than Jesus. He needs Christ as payment for sin. He needs Christ as the One to instruct him and as the One Who rules over him. Here in Psalm 72 David rejoices in the royal authority of Christ. He delights in the everlasting Kingdom of Christ. The Lord Jesus has become the aim for his life.

This is what the Holy Spirit teaches in spiritual life. You see something of the depths of your sins. You know that you can never undo what you have done. You know that there is only one place where you can bring all your burdens. Jesus Christ and his finished work on the cross. He is your only Hope. You rest on His payment alone. You lean upon Christ. You therefore rejoice in His royal authority. His service is dear to you. His rule is a delight to you. He becomes the aim of your life.

Is this reality for you? Do you end this year in Christ? Has He covered all the sins of this past year? Has He become the focus of your life, the aim of your existences. Is He the delight of your soul? You are still invited to end this year in Christ. You are still invited to confess your sins before Him and to close with Christ.

David ends in Christ. Let us do the same. Christ shall live and reign forever. Of His Kingdom there shall be no end. He shall live and reign. He shall be known, loved and adored eternally. Take His yoke upon you for it is light. Let us receive Him as the Lord our righteousness. Let us richly partake of His Spirit. Let us follow His footsteps. Live not for yourself, but for Him.

The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended. That shows us that David ends in Christ. But it also shows us that:

2. There is an end to prayer.

David’s prayers have come to an end. During his life he prayed much. We have some examples of his prayers recorded in Scripture, how he exalts the Lord and humbles himself. He worshipped the Lord in public. He also entrusted his way to the Lord in private. When he had to fight the lion and the bear while he was a very young, he committed himself to the Lord. He trusted in God and the Lord delivered him from the lion and from the bear. David testified this before Saul. David wrote psalms and played the harp already as a shepherds boy. He sang praises to God. He prayed much in his life. But here in our text we see that his prayers are come to an end.

No longer could David sing his psalms anymore. No more could he plead for God's mercy. No longer could David pray anymore. That means that the time had come when he no longer could pray for others anymore. His prayers had ended.

Prayer is important. Intercessory prayer is important. Praying for others and mentioning them by name and laying their needs before the Lord is important. The Lord is pleased to incorporate the prayers of His people in His sovereign plan of salvation. That means that their prayers make a difference. He hears prayer. But when there is no prayer He will not hear.

The Lord heard the prayers of Moses for the people and of Job for his three friends. The Lord said: Ask and ye shall receive.